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Monday, September 14, 2015

Gallivanting in Galveston: Lovely Sunday

Sunday morning, i finally got to see the sunrise. As soon as it was up, i ran back up to the condo to dress for church.

Yes, even on vacation.

Grace and i took Humphrey the Honda and went to Trinity Episcopal Church. It is one of the older churches on the island, and survived The Great Storm. The service was lovely, very traditional and liturgical in a way i don't get to celebrate very often, and i enjoyed it immensely.

After the service, we went to the parish hall for coffee and found out the current rector is only the 11th that the church has ever had in its history, and it was founded in the 1850s (if i'm remembering correctly, it was at least that long ago).

During the service, at the time for announcements, the rector called up a young lady from the local high school to talk about the food drive. As it took her a couple of minutes to get up there, the rector said, "Yes, we have a very long aisle, you might keep that in mind when it's time to get married!" It's always nice to have an officiant with a sense of humor.

The Hotel Galvez has a brunch on Sunday, so after church Grace and i went back for Sunny and Little Ninja, and we all enjoyed a leisurely, and quite lavish, meal. Then we returned to the condo and changed out of our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and went to the other end of the island to the beach there.

Beaches here are different from the beaches at Perdido Key in Florida in a couple of ways. The sand is darker, the water is a bit darker, and people actually are allowed to drive their vehicles out onto the beach itself. They are also allowed to bring pets onto the beach, and it was such fun to watch the dogs having a great time with their families in the water.

It does remind me of NOLA in one thing. Just as there "ain't no place to pee on Mardi Gras day," as the Benny Grunch song says, there are no places at the beaches here, either. No nice little huts up by the ranger station. If you aren't staying in a condo or other resort type area nearby, well, as Sweetie would say, tie a knot in it.

Sunday afternoons and evenings are supposed to be a bit lazy, and ours was. When we got tired of the beach we returned to do laundry, then wandered over to a small restaurant walking distance from the resort for a light appetizer, and spent the rest of the evening playing a board game.

Today is:

Battle of San Jacinto Day -- Nicaragua

Cochabamba Day -- Cochabamba, Bolivia (festival of the founding of the city)

Eat a Hoagie Day

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 4, Economic Justice (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross/Elevation of the Life Giving Cross/Holy Cross Day -- Christian

Domitian becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of his brother Titus, 81Harun al-Rashid beomes Abbasid Caliph upon the death of his brother, al-Hadi, 786The first lighthouse in the US, in Boston, is lit, 1716George Frederick Handel finishes "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days, 1741Napoleon occupies Moscow; fires begin that will not be fully extinguished for 5 days, 1812Francis Scott Key witnesses the battle which inspires him to write "The Defense of Fort McHenry", later retitled "The Star Spangled Banner", 1814George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon, 1886President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, 1901Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 1948The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it, 1959The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded, 1960The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI, 1975President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated, 1982Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean, 1984The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them, 1987Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks; a similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital, 2001In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union, 2003NASA reveals the Space Launch Program to replace the Space Shuttle program, 2011

You know if there are no restrooms at the beach, people are just peeing away in the ocean. Ewww! We don't have oceans where I live (Tennessee) so we don't get the luxury of just visiting for the day. A trip to the beach means an eight-hour drive, hotel stay, etc.